U.S. patent application number 16/338228 was filed with the patent office on 2020-01-30 for reusable pouch type secondary battery, battery module comprising the same and method of reusing battery module.
This patent application is currently assigned to LG CHEM, LTD.. The applicant listed for this patent is LG CHEM, LTD.. Invention is credited to Hee-Jun JIN, Eun-Ah JU, Yoon-Koo LEE, Jeong-O MUN, Sung-Won SEO.
Application Number | 20200035966 16/338228 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 63918410 |
Filed Date | 2020-01-30 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20200035966 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
JIN; Hee-Jun ; et
al. |
January 30, 2020 |
REUSABLE POUCH TYPE SECONDARY BATTERY, BATTERY MODULE COMPRISING
THE SAME AND METHOD OF REUSING BATTERY MODULE
Abstract
A pouch type secondary battery in which an electrode lead of the
pouch type secondary battery and an electrode lead of an adjacent
different pouch type secondary battery are welded together to
construct a battery module is provided. The electrode lead of the
pouch type secondary battery includes a length extended part so
that, after cutting a welded part of the electrode leads of the
pouch type secondary battery and the adjacent different pouch type
secondary battery to form electrode leads of remaining length, the
electrode leads of remaining length are welded together again. A
battery module and method of reusing the battery module are also
provided.
Inventors: |
JIN; Hee-Jun; (Daejeon,
KR) ; SEO; Sung-Won; (Daejeon, KR) ; LEE;
Yoon-Koo; (Daejeon, KR) ; JU; Eun-Ah;
(Daejeon, KR) ; MUN; Jeong-O; (Daejeon,
KR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
LG CHEM, LTD. |
Seoul |
|
KR |
|
|
Assignee: |
LG CHEM, LTD.
Seoul
KR
|
Family ID: |
63918410 |
Appl. No.: |
16/338228 |
Filed: |
February 19, 2018 |
PCT Filed: |
February 19, 2018 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/KR2018/002006 |
371 Date: |
March 29, 2019 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01M 2/02 20130101; H01M
10/54 20130101; H01M 10/04 20130101; H01M 10/045 20130101; H01M
2/10 20130101; H01M 2/1077 20130101; H01M 2/263 20130101; H01M
2220/20 20130101; H01M 2/021 20130101; H01M 2/20 20130101; H01M
2/202 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H01M 2/10 20060101
H01M002/10; H01M 2/26 20060101 H01M002/26; H01M 10/04 20060101
H01M010/04 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Apr 25, 2017 |
KR |
10-2017-0052906 |
Claims
1. A pouch type secondary battery, wherein an electrode lead of the
pouch type secondary battery and an electrode lead of an adjacent
different pouch type secondary battery are welded together to
construct a battery module, and wherein the electrode lead of the
pouch type secondary battery includes a length extended part so
that, after cutting a welded part of the electrode leads of the
pouch type secondary battery and the adjacent different pouch type
secondary battery to form electrode leads of remaining length, the
electrode leads of remaining length are welded together again.
2. The pouch type secondary battery according to claim 1, wherein
the pouch type secondary battery has a lead film between a pouch
case and the electrode lead, and the lead film includes a surplus
part so that the lead film is formed to the length extended
part.
3. The pouch type secondary battery according to claim 2, wherein
the lead film includes a notch on two sides of a part of the lead
film sticking out of the pouch case, the notches being arranged to
make the surplus part removable from the length extended part.
4. The pouch type secondary battery according to claim 1, further
comprising an insulation tape that covers the length extended
part.
5. A battery module comprising: a plurality of stacked pouch type
secondary batteries, each pouch type secondary battery having an
electrode lead including a length extended part, so that, after
cutting a welded part of electrode leads of adjacently pouch type
secondary batteries to form electrode leads of remaining length,
the electrode leads of remaining length are welded together
again.
6. The battery module according to claim 5, wherein each pouch type
secondary battery includes a terrace, and the electrode lead is
folded into the terrace of the pouch type secondary battery.
7. The battery module according to claim 5, wherein each pouch type
secondary battery has a lead film between a pouch case and the
electrode lead, and the lead film includes a surplus part so that
the lead film is formed to the length extended part.
8. The battery module according to claim 7, wherein the lead film
includes a notch on two sides of a part of the lead film sticking
out of the pouch case, the notches being arranged to make the
surplus part removable from the length extended part.
9. The battery module according to claim 5, further comprising an
insulation tape that covers the length extended part.
10. The battery module according to claim 6, further comprising
another insulation tape on a part where the electrode lead is
folded.
11. A method of reusing a battery module, in which a plurality of
pouch type secondary batteries is stacked, each pouch type
secondary battery having an electrode lead including a length
extended part, so that each electrode lead is capable of being cut
after being welded to an adjacent electrode lead to form electrode
leads of remaining length, and the electrode leads of adjacent
pouch type secondary batteries are welded together to form a welded
part, the reuse method comprising: cutting the welded part of the
battery module; and rearranging the pouch type secondary batteries
and welding the electrode leads of remaining length together to
manufacture another battery module.
12. The reuse method according to claim 11, wherein each pouch type
secondary battery has a lead film between a pouch case and the
electrode lead, the lead film includes a surplus part so that the
lead film is formed to the length extended part, and the lead film
includes a notch on two sides of a part of the lead film sticking
out of the pouch case, the notches being arranged to make the
surplus part removable from the long extended part, and the reuse
method further comprises removing the surplus part before or after
cutting the welded part of the battery module.
13. The reuse method according to claim 11, wherein each pouch type
secondary battery further includes an insulation tape that covers
the length extended part, and the reuse method further comprises
removing the insulation tape before or after cutting the welded
part of the battery module.
14. A method of reusing a battery module, in which a plurality of
pouch type secondary batteries is stacked, each pouch type
secondary battery having a terrace and an electrode lead including
a length extended part, so that each electrode lead is capable of
being cut after being welded to an adjacent electrode lead to form
electrode leads of remaining length, each electrode lead is folded
into the terrace of the pouch type secondary battery, and the
electrode leads are welded together to form a welded part, the
reuse method comprising: cutting the welded part of the battery
module; unfolding the folded electrode leads; and rearranging the
pouch type secondary batteries and welding the unfolded electrode
leads together to manufacture another battery module.
15. A method of reusing a battery module, in which a plurality of
pouch type secondary batteries are stacked and electrode leads of
adjacent pouch type secondary batteries are welded together to form
a welded part, the reuse method comprising: cutting the welded part
of the electrode leads to form electrodes leads of remaining
length; welding additional leads for electrode lead length
extension to the electrode leads of remaining length, respectively;
and rearranging the pouch type secondary batteries and welding the
additional leads together to manufacture another battery
module.
16. The battery module according to claim 6, wherein each pouch
type secondary battery has a lead film between a pouch case and the
electrode lead, and the lead film includes a surplus part so that
the lead film is formed to the length extended part.
17. The battery module according to claim 16, wherein the lead film
includes a notch on two sides of a part of the lead film sticking
out of the pouch case, the notches being arranges to make the
surplus part removable from the length extended part.
18. The battery module according to claim 6, further comprising an
insulation tape that covers the length extended part.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present disclosure relates to a pouch type secondary
battery, and more particularly, to a reusable pouch type secondary
battery and a battery module comprising the same. The present
disclosure also relates to a method of reusing the battery module
and a method of reusing a general battery module. The present
application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No.
10-2017-0052906 filed in the Republic of Korea on Apr. 25, 2017,
the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND ART
[0002] Recently, with the dramatically increasing demand for
portable electronic products such as laptop computers, video
cameras, mobile phones, and the like, along with the active
development of electric vehicles, accumulators for energy storage,
robots, satellites, and the like, many studies of high-performance
secondary batteries capable of repeatedly recharging has been
conducted. Currently, among commercially available secondary
batteries, lithium secondary batteries have little or no memory
effect, and thus they are gaining more attention than nickel-based
secondary batteries for their advantages of free
charging/discharging, low self-discharging, and high energy
density.
[0003] More recently, secondary batteries are being widely used in
not only small devices such as portable electronic products but
also medium- and large-scale devices such as vehicles and energy
storage systems (ESSs). In particular, with the steady exhaustion
of carbon energy and increasing interest in the environment, the
demand for hybrid electric vehicles and electric vehicles is
increasing all over the world including United States, Europe,
Japan, and the Republic of Korea. In such hybrid electric vehicles
or electric vehicles, the most essential component is a battery
pack that gives a driving power to an automobile motor. Because
hybrid electric vehicles or electric vehicles are supplied with
power for driving the vehicles through charging/discharging of
battery packs, as compared to vehicles powered by an engine alone,
they have higher fuel efficiency and can eliminate or lessen the
emission of pollutants, and by this reason, the number of users is
now increasing.
[0004] When a secondary battery is used for an electric vehicle, to
increase the capacity and output, a battery pack is manufactured
using battery modules in which many secondary batteries are
connected in series and/or in parallel. In this instance, pouch
type secondary batteries are widely used in medium- and large-scale
devices because they are easy to stack.
[0005] FIG. 1 shows a general pouch type secondary battery.
[0006] Referring to FIG. 1, the general pouch type secondary
battery 1 has a sealing part 30 formed by sealing a pouch case 10
in which an electrode assembly 20 is received, and electrode leads
40, 45 are welded to a positive electrode tab and a negative
electrode tab of the electrode assembly 20 respectively and exposed
through the pouch case 10. A lead film 50 is interposed between the
pouch case 10 and the electrode leads 40, 45. In the sealing part
30, particularly, a portion where the electrode leads 40, 45 are
drawn is called terrace T.
[0007] As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of pouch type secondary
batteries 1 is stacked, and two adjacent pouch type secondary
batteries 1 are connected in series and/or in parallel such that
the electrode leads 40, 45 provided in each pouch type secondary
battery 1 are connected to each other to construct a battery module
11 with improved capacity and output. The reference numeral 60 is a
structure that structurally supports the battery module 11, such as
a molded product.
[0008] When connecting the pouch type secondary batteries 1 to
manufacture the battery module 11, laser welding L is applied to
connect the electrode leads 40, 45. The battery module 11 is used
for an automobile battery, and after the intended service life
expires, it would be desirable that the battery module 11 is used
for a second purpose, for example, an ESS having less strict
capacity retention rate or other conditions. To this end, it is
necessary to dissemble the existing connection structure of the
first battery module and connect the pouch type secondary batteries
by a different method to manufacture a new battery module for the
purpose of reuse. However, conventionally, it was not easy to reuse
because it was impossible to separate the electrode leads 40, 45
joined by laser welding L using a non-destructive method.
[0009] As in FIG. 3, when a welded part A formed by laser welding L
is cut along a line C, the remaining electrode leads 40', 45' are
too short. By this reason, it is impossible to reuse by
reconnection and welding only using the remaining electrode leads
40', 45'.
[0010] As described above, conventionally, when disassembling a
battery module and reusing pouch type secondary batteries for a new
battery module, insufficient electrode lead length is
problematic.
DISCLOSURE
Technical Problem
[0011] The present disclosure is designed to solve the
above-described problem, and therefore the present disclosure is
directed to providing a reusable pouch type secondary battery.
[0012] The present disclosure is further directed to providing a
reusable battery module.
[0013] The present disclosure is further directed to providing a
method of reusing a battery module.
[0014] These and other objects and advantages of the present
disclosure will be understood by the following description and will
be apparent from the embodiments of the present disclosure.
Further, it will be readily understood that the objects and
advantages of the present disclosure are realized by the means set
forth in the appended claims and combinations thereof.
Technical Solution
[0015] To achieve the above-described object, a pouch type
secondary battery according to the present disclosure is a pouch
type secondary battery in which an electrode lead of the pouch type
secondary battery and an electrode lead of an adjacent different
pouch type secondary battery are welded to construct a battery
module, and the electrode lead includes a length extended part so
that the electrode leads of remaining length after cutting a welded
part of the electrode leads are welded again.
[0016] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the
pouch type secondary battery has a lead film between a pouch case
and the electrode lead, and the lead film may include a surplus
part so that the lead film is formed to the length extended part.
In this instance, the lead film may include a notch on two sides of
a part sticking out of the pouch case to remove the surplus
part.
[0017] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure,
the pouch type secondary battery further includes an insulation
tape that covers the length extended part. The insulation tape may
be a composite film in which a PI or PP film has an adhesive
layer.
[0018] To achieve another object, a battery module according to the
present disclosure includes the pouch type secondary battery.
[0019] The battery module according to the present disclosure
includes a plurality of stacked pouch type secondary batteries,
each having an electrode lead including a length extended part, so
that electrode leads of remaining length after cutting a welded
part of the electrode leads are welded again, with the electrode
leads of adjacent pouch type secondary batteries being welded.
[0020] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure,
the electrode lead of the pouch type secondary battery included in
the battery module is folded into terrace of the pouch type
secondary battery. The battery module may further include another
insulation tape on a part where the electrode lead is folded.
[0021] To achieve still another object, a method of reusing a
battery module according to the present disclosure is a method of
reusing the battery module according to the present disclosure.
[0022] An embodiment of the method of reusing a battery module
according to the present disclosure is a method of reusing a
battery module, in which a plurality of pouch type secondary
batteries is stacked, each having an electrode lead including a
length extended part, so that electrode leads of remaining length
after cutting a welded part of the electrode leads are welded
again, and the electrode leads of adjacent pouch type secondary
batteries are welded, the reuse method including cutting the welded
part of the battery module, and re-arranging the pouch type
secondary batteries and welding the remaining electrode leads to
manufacture another battery module.
[0023] When the pouch type secondary battery has a lead film
between a pouch case and the electrode lead, the lead film includes
a surplus part so that the lead film is formed to the length
extended part, and the lead film includes a notch on two sides of a
part sticking out of the pouch case to remove the surplus part, the
reuse method may further include removing the surplus part before
or after cutting the welded part of the battery module.
[0024] When the pouch type secondary battery further includes an
insulation tape that covers the length extended part, the reuse
method may further include removing the insulation tape before or
after cutting the welded part of the battery module.
[0025] Another embodiment of a method of reusing a battery module
according to the present disclosure is a method of reusing a
battery module, in which a plurality of pouch type secondary
batteries is stacked, each having an electrode lead including a
length extended part, so that electrode leads of remaining length
after cutting a welded part of the electrode leads are welded
again, and the electrode leads are welded and folded into terrace
of the pouch type secondary battery, the reuse method including
cutting the welded part of the battery module, unfolding the folded
electrode leads, and re-arranging the pouch type secondary
batteries and welding the unfolded electrode leads to manufacture
another battery module.
[0026] Further, the present disclosure proposes a method of reusing
a general battery module. The reuse method is a method of reusing a
battery module, in which a plurality of pouch type secondary
batteries are stacked and electrode leads of adjacent pouch type
secondary batteries are welded, the reuse method including cutting
a welded part of the electrode leads, welding additional leads for
electrode lead length extension to the remaining electrode leads
respectively, and re-arranging the pouch type secondary batteries
and welding the additional leads to manufacture another battery
module.
[0027] Here, the step of welding additional leads for electrode
lead length extension to the remaining electrode leads respectively
is preferably performed by friction stir welding.
Advantageous Effects
[0028] According to the present disclosure, by solving the
insufficient electrode lead length problem when reusing pouch type
secondary batteries, a battery module of a new connection structure
may be constructed, no matter which connection structure is series
or parallel.
[0029] According to an aspect of the present disclosure, it is
possible to reuse the battery module through structure modification
to increase the electrode lead length of the pouch type secondary
batteries. Because the remaining electrode lead length after
cutting the joined part by laser welding is enough long, the pouch
type secondary batteries may be used for a second purpose after
connected again.
[0030] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, it is
possible to reuse a battery module including conventional pouch
type secondary batteries by joining additional leads to the battery
module to extend the electrode lead length, the battery module may
be reused.
[0031] According to still another aspect of the present disclosure,
while the electrode lead length of the pouch type secondary
batteries is increased, the electrode leads are folded for space
utilization. The battery module may be reused for a second purpose,
for example, an ESS, by unfolding the folded electrode leads and
changing the series/parallel connection structure of the pouch type
secondary batteries.
[0032] As above, according to the present disclosure, it is easy to
reuse a battery module including pouch type secondary batteries,
contributing to the utilization of limited resources and maximizing
cost efficiency.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0033] The accompanying drawings illustrate preferred embodiments
of the present disclosure and together with the following detailed
description, serve to provide further understanding of the
technical aspects of the present disclosure, and thus, the present
disclosure should not be construed as being limited to the
drawings.
[0034] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a general pouch type
secondary battery.
[0035] FIG. 2 is a side view of a conventional battery module.
[0036] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing that it is difficult to reuse
pouch type secondary batteries in a conventional battery
module.
[0037] FIG. 4 is a side view of a battery module including pouch
type secondary batteries according to an embodiment of the present
disclosure.
[0038] FIG. 5 is a top view of a pouch type secondary battery
according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0039] FIG. 6 is a top view of a pouch type secondary battery
according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0040] FIG. 7 is a side view illustrating a method of reusing a
battery module including the pouch type secondary batteries shown
in FIG. 5.
[0041] FIG. 8 is a top view showing preparation before step (a) in
FIG. 7.
[0042] FIG. 9 is a side view illustrating a reuse method according
to another embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0043] FIG. 10 is a side view of a battery module including pouch
type secondary batteries according to still another embodiment of
the present disclosure.
[0044] FIG. 11 is a side view illustrating a method of reusing the
battery module of FIG. 10.
MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
[0045] Hereinafter, the preferred embodiments of the present
disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the
accompanying drawings. Prior to the description, it should be
understood that the terms or words used in the specification and
the appended claims should not be construed as limited to general
and dictionary meanings, but interpreted based on the meanings and
concepts corresponding to the technical aspects of the present
disclosure on the basis of the principle that the inventor is
allowed to define terms appropriately for the best explanation.
[0046] Therefore, the embodiments described herein and
illustrations shown in the drawings are just a most preferred
embodiment of the present disclosure, but not intended to fully
describe the technical aspects of the present disclosure, so it
should be understood that other equivalents and modifications could
be made thereto at the time the application was filed.
[0047] FIG. 4 is a side view of a battery module including pouch
type secondary batteries according to an embodiment of the present
disclosure.
[0048] Referring to FIG. 4, a plurality of pouch type secondary
batteries 101 is stacked, and two adjacent pouch type secondary
batteries 101 are connected in series and/or in parallel such that
electrode leads 140, 145 provided in each pouch type secondary
battery 101 are connected to each other to construct a battery
module 111. The reference numeral 160 is a structure that
structurally supports the battery module 111, such as a molded
product, and the reference numeral 150 is a lead film. The outline
of the pouch type secondary battery 101 is similar to that of the
pouch type secondary battery 1 of FIG. 1, and an electrode assembly
is received in a pouch case 110 and sealed to form a sealing part,
and the electrode leads 140, 145 are each welded to the positive
electrode tab and the negative electrode tab of the electrode
assembly and exposed through the pouch case 110. The lead film 150
is interposed between the pouch case 110 and the electrode lead
140, 145. A portion where the electrode leads 140, 145 are drawn is
called terrace T.
[0049] The electrode leads 140, 145 have the increased length
compared to the electrode leads 40, 45 of the conventional pouch
type secondary battery 1 described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.
The electrode leads 140, 145 include a length extended part 141 so
that the electrode leads of the remaining length after cutting a
welded part A of the electrode leads 140, 145 can be welded again.
The size d of the length extended part 141 may be determined,
taking into account a length that is discarded when cutting the
welded part and a length and processing allowance required when
newly welding, and when a currently used welder and the structure
of the pouch type secondary battery are taken into account,
preferably the size of the length extended part 141 is
approximately 7 mm or more. When the length extended part d is
smaller than 7 mm or less, there is difficulty in aligning the
welder to weld the remaining parts after cutting the electrode
leads 140, 145. When the length extended part 141 is too large, the
spatial volume of the battery module 111 increases due to the
electrode leads 140, 145, and when the energy density is
considered, it is unfavorable. In view of this circumstance, the
size d of the length extended part 141 is preferably 8 mm or more
and 15 mm or less.
[0050] The pouch type secondary battery 101 according to an
embodiment of the present disclosure has the increased length of
the electrode leads 140, 145 compared to the conventional one, so
that after use of the battery module 111, the pouch type secondary
batteries 101 can be connected and reused by welding the remaining
electrode lead parts after cutting the welded part A of the
electrode leads 140, 145. As described above, the present
disclosure proposes manufacturing the pouch type secondary battery
101 with the increased length of the electrode leads 140, 145
compared to the conventional one, stacking the pouch type secondary
batteries 101, bending each electrode lead 140, 145, and joining
the electrode leads 140, 145 by laser welding L to manufacture the
battery module 111. That is, the battery module 111 according to
the present disclosure is manufactured by stacking the plurality of
pouch type secondary batteries 101 having the electrode leads 140,
145 including the length extended part 141 so that the electrode
leads of the remaining length after cutting the welded part A of
the electrode leads 140, 145 can be welded again, and welding the
electrode leads 140, 145 of adjacent pouch type secondary batteries
101.
[0051] Because of including the length extended part 141, the
battery module with the increased length of the electrode leads
140, 145 compared to the conventional one has a short circuit
problem in the event of unwanted contact between the electrode
leads 140, 145 with the increased length. The present disclosure
ensures insulation by increasing the length of the insulating film
150 to cover the length extended part 141.
[0052] FIG. 5 is a top view of the pouch type secondary battery
according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0053] To solve the insulation problem encountered when using the
battery module 111 due to the electrode leads 140, 145 with the
increased length, a surplus part 151 may be formed by increasing
the length of the lead film 150 extending out from the pouch case
110 of the pouch type secondary battery 101. The surplus part 151
may cover the length extended part 141. That is, an increase in the
area in which the electrode leads 140, 145 are covered by the lead
film 150 ensures insulation. After the battery module 111 is used,
the surplus part 151 may be removed. To easily remove the surplus
part 151, a notch N may be formed on two sides of the lead film
150. Instead of the notch N, a perforated line may be formed by
punching, or a cutout corresponding to the perforated line may be
formed beforehand.
[0054] A plurality of notches N may be formed as shown, and only
one notch N may be formed. The notch N may be in semicircular,
circular, U or V shape. The notch N may be included in two sides of
the lead film 150 extending out from the pouch case 110.
[0055] The lead film 150 may prevent a short circuit from occurring
between the electrode lead 140, 145 and a metal layer of the pouch
case 110, as well as improving the sealing of the pouch case 110.
In the heat welding of the electrode leads 140, 145 made of metal
and the pouch case 110 made of polymer, the contact resistance is
somewhat large, causing the surface contact to reduce. However, as
in the above embodiment, with the lead film 150, this contact
reduction phenomenon may be prevented. Additionally, it is
preferred that the lead film 150 is made of an insulating material
to prevent the application of the current from the electrode leads
140, 145 to the pouch case 110. The lead film 150 is formed of a
film with insulation and heat weldability. The lead film 150 may be
formed of, for example, a layer (a single layer or a multiple
layer) of at least one material selected from polyimide (PI),
polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE) and polyethylene
terephthalate (PET). In this embodiment, the lead film 150 serves
to prevent a short circuit in exposed parts of the electrode leads
140, 145 through the pouch case 110 by increasing the length of the
lead film 150.
[0056] The pouch type secondary battery 101 according to an
embodiment of the present disclosure has an increase in the length
of the electrode leads 140, 145 and the length of the lead film
150, taking into account a length that is cut and removed when
reusing and a length of a part to be additionally welded, and the
reusable battery module 111 includes the pouch type secondary
battery 101.
[0057] FIG. 6 is a top view of the pouch type secondary battery
according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0058] Referring to FIG. 6, an additional insulation tape 155 is
attached onto the lead film 150 or the electrode leads 140, 145
extending out from the pouch case 110 of the pouch type secondary
battery, ensuring insulation of the electrode leads 140, 145 with
the increased length. The insulation tape 155 may cover the length
extended part 141. Additionally, the insulation tape 155 may be PI
or PP. Specifically, the insulation tape 155 may be a composite
film in which a PI or PP film has an adhesive layer such as an
epoxy adhesive. The additional insulation tape 155 provides an
additional insulating portion to prevent a potential insulation
problem caused by the long electrode leads 140, 145. After use of
the battery module 111, the insulation tape 155 (and even a surplus
part if the lead film has the surplus part) may be removed. The
insulation tape 155 may be removed from the electrode leads 140,
145 through a simple operation of peeling off.
[0059] FIG. 7 is a side view illustrating a method of reusing a
battery module including the pouch type secondary batteries shown
in FIG. 5. FIG. 8 is a top view showing preparation before step (a)
in FIG. 7.
[0060] The battery module 111 has a wide range of applications, and
for example, may be used as a power source for at least one medium-
and large-scale device of power tools; electric cars including
electric vehicles (EVs), hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), and
plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs); electric truck; electric
commercial vehicles; and energy storage systems. After the service
life expires after use as intended, the battery module 111 may be
reused through the reuse method according to the present
disclosure.
[0061] Referring to FIG. 7, for reuse, first, the welded part A of
the electrode leads 140, 145 is cut along a line C from the
conventional battery module 111 as shown in (a). In this instance,
it may start with preparation shown in FIG. 8. That is, the surplus
part 151 described in FIG. 5 or the insulation tape 155 described
in FIG. 6 is removed first, leaving a lead film 150' extending out
from the pouch case 110 as much as a normal length, and then step
(a) of FIG. 7 may be performed. The step of removing the surplus
part 151 described in FIG. 5 or the insulation tape 155 described
in FIG. 6 may be performed before or after step (a) or (b) of FIG.
7.
[0062] After the welded part A is cut as shown in (a) of FIG. 7,
the pouch type secondary batteries 101 are re-arranged as shown in
(b), and as shown in (c), the remaining electrode leads 140', 145'
are newly welded L' to each other to manufacture a different, new
battery module 211. Specifically, after the remaining electrode
leads 140', 145' are used as they are and a new structure 165 is
placed, the remaining electrode leads 140', 145' are bent and
welding L' is performed with the bent parts brought into contact.
Then, the pouch type secondary batteries 101 may be re-arranged and
re-constructed for reuse as a new battery module 211.
[0063] Meanwhile, when the length of the electrode leads increases
as described in FIG. 4, the space occupied by the electrode leads
in the battery module increases in initial use, exerting negative
influence such as area ratio reduction. The size of the length
extended part 141 may be selected, taking this area ratio into
account as much as possible, but it will be more desirable if the
battery module is reused without changing the area ratio. The next
embodiment relates to a method of reusing a battery module without
increasing the electrode lead length.
[0064] FIG. 9 is a side view illustrating a method of reusing a
battery module according to another embodiment of the present
disclosure.
[0065] (a) of FIG. 9 shows side view of a battery module including
conventional pouch type secondary batteries, for example, the
general battery module 11 such as that shown in FIG. 2. After use
of the battery module 11 as originally intended, the welded part A
is cut along a line C into the state of (b). The remaining
electrode leads 40', 45' are too short to use as they are. The
present disclosure proposes welding L''' the additional leads 41,
46 for electrode lead length extension to the remaining electrode
leads 40', 45' respectively. After extending the electrode lead
length, referring to (c), for bending of the additional leads 41,
46, placement of the structure 165 and construction of a new
battery module, welding L'' of the additional leads 41, 46 is
performed to re-arrange and re-construct the pouch type secondary
batteries 1 for reuse as a new battery module 311.
[0066] According to this embodiment, it is possible reuse the
battery module without increasing the length of the electrode leads
at the initial manufacture of the battery module. Rather, because a
minimum length for welding the additional leads after cutting the
welded part is required, it is more preferable to increase the
electrode lead length even a little bit longer than those of
commonly used general pouch type secondary batteries. When welding
L''' the additional leads 41, 46 for electrode lead length
extension to the remaining electrode leads 40', 45' respectively,
many welding methods may be used, and when friction stir welding is
used, it is advantageous because the weld width is less than 1
mm.
[0067] The friction stir welding is a welding method that heats and
softens targets (in this embodiment, the additional leads 41, 46
and the remaining electrode leads 40', 45') by heat generated by
friction by inserting a tool into the target and rotating the tool
and stirring of the tool, leading to plastic flow, and welds the
targets by the solid state joining, for example, welds the targets
together at the joined area. The friction stir welding is a method
that joins the additional leads 41, 46 and the remaining electrode
leads 40', 45' in solid state without melting, and an advantage is
that the characteristics of the welded part are better than fusion
welding.
[0068] FIG. 10 is a side view of a battery module including pouch
type secondary batteries according to still another embodiment of
the present disclosure.
[0069] Referring to FIG. 10, in the same way as the first
embodiment, this is a case of increasing the electrode lead length
for reuse by connecting the pouch type secondary batteries with the
remaining electrode lead part after cutting the welded part after
use of the battery module.
[0070] That is, the pouch type secondary battery 101 described with
reference to FIG. 4 is included in a battery module 121. The
plurality of pouch type secondary batteries 101 is stacked, and two
adjacent pouch type secondary batteries 101 are connected in series
and/or in parallel such that the electrode leads 140, 145 provided
in each pouch type secondary battery 101 are connected to each
other to construct a battery module 121 with improved capacity and
output. The reference numeral 160 is a structure that structurally
supports the battery module 121, such as a molded product, in the
same way as described previously.
[0071] The electrode leads 140, 145 are respectively welded to the
positive electrode tab and the negative electrode tab of the
electrode assembly and exposed through the pouch case 110. A
portion where the electrode leads 140, 145 are drawn is called
terrace T.
[0072] In this instance, this embodiment is characterized in that
the length increased electrode leads 140, 145 are folded into the
terrace T of the pouch type secondary battery 101 to reduce the
horizontal length. To prevent a potential risk of a short circuit
between the electrode leads 140, 145 that are folded and overlap
with the terrace T, an insulation ensuring structure is needed, and
is indicated by the reference numeral 170 in the drawing. As
described previously, the insulation ensuring structure 170 may be
formed by providing the length increased lead film 150 having the
surplus part 151 or the insulation tape 155 and folding the
electrode leads 140, 145 neatly, and winding another insulating
tape after folding the electrode leads 140, 145. The battery module
121 with the structure of FIG. 10 may have a shape change or more
complex shape of counterpart (for example, a cartridge, etc.) for
fixing the pouch type secondary batteries 101 to fixedly receive
the electrode leads 140, 145 folded into the terrace T in
overlapping manner, but preferably ensures spatial
utility/insulation/secondary utility possibility.
[0073] FIG. 11 is a side view illustrating a method of reusing the
battery module of FIG. 10. After use of the battery module 121, the
welded part A is cut along a line C as shown in (a), and the folded
electrode leads are unfolded as shown in (b). Subsequently, the
electrode leads 140', 145' are bent as shown in (c), and the
structure 165 is placed and the electrode leads 140', 145' are
welded L'' to re-arrange and re-construct the pouch type secondary
batteries 101 for reuse as a new battery module 211.
[0074] Of course, the methods of reusing by combining or applying
the previously described embodiments are available. As described
above, according to the present disclosure, the insufficient
electrode lead length problem encountered when reusing pouch type
secondary batteries is solved, and a battery module of a new
connection structure may be constructed irrespective of
series/parallel connections structure.
[0075] As described above, the present disclosure proposes a method
of reusing a battery module. The initial battery module is used,
for example, as an electric vehicle battery, and after the intended
service life expires, may be manufactured into another battery
module by re-arranging and re-welding pouch type secondary
batteries through the reuse method proposed by the present
disclosure. The newly manufactured battery module may be used for a
second purpose, for example, an ESS having less strict capacity
retention or other conditions than an electric vehicle battery. As
described above, according to the present disclosure, it is
possible to reuse without wasting the limited resources through the
reuse of the battery module, and there are eco-friendly and cost
effective advantages.
[0076] While the present disclosure has been hereinabove described
with regard to a limited number of embodiments and drawings, the
present disclosure is not limited thereto and it is obvious to
those skilled in the art that various modifications and changes may
be made thereto within the technical aspects of the present
disclosure and the equivalent scope of the appended claims.
* * * * *